Tracker-board for automatic musical instruments.



PATENTED AUG. 4, 1908.

T. P. BROWN; TRACKER BOARD FOR AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 2. 1903.

NO MODEL.

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UNITED STATES Patented August 4, 190?.

THEODORE P. BROWN, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

TRACKER-BOARD FOR AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 735,062, dated August4, 1903.

Application filed January 2, 1903. Serial No. 137,461. (No model.)

To all whom, it ntay concern:

Be it known that I, THEODORE P. BROWN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Worcester, in the county of Worcester and State ofMassachusetts, have invented a new and useful Tracker-Board forAutomatic Musical Instruments, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to the trackerboards, so termed, which areemployed in automatic musical instruments-that is, this inventionrelates to those boards or pieces having channels cooperating with thesheets of perforated paper.

The especial object of this invention is to provide a tracker-boardconstruction of the same general color or finish as the casings employedin musical instruments of this class and which at the same time will beprovided with a light-colored centralguiding-face surrounding theperforations, which light-colored face will show the registration of theperforations in the paper with the holes of the tracker-board.

To these ends this invention consists of the tracker-board as an articleof manufacture, as hereinafter described, and more particularly pointedout in the claims at the end of this specification.

The accompanying drawing shows a perspective view of a tracker-boardconstructed according to this invention.

In the use of that class of automatic musical instruments which arecontrolled by perforated sheets of paper the best results can only beobtained when perfect registration is maintained between theperforations of the music-sheet and the holes in the trackerboard. Inorder that the registration of the music -perforations with the holes ofthe tracker-board may be readily observed, it is essential that thetracker-board should be of a light color, and it is on this account thatin substantially all the automatic musical instruments which are nowmanufactured the tracker-boards are made of light-colored woods. Itresults from this that when the casing of an automatic musicalinstrument is opened the light coloring of the tracker-board willnecessarily present an unfinished and for many purposes unattractiveappearance. On this account a demand has arisen that the tracker-boardsshould have substantially the same finish or coloring as the casing ofthe instrument itself; but it has been found impossible in practice toemploy dark-colored tracker-boards to produce the best results, as whenthe music-sheet is drawn over the face of the dark-colored tracker-boardit is substantially impossible to distinguish whether the perforationsof the music-sheet are registering accurately with the tracker-boardholes. To overcome this objection, I have found in practice that it isnot essential that the entire face of the tracker-board should belightcolored in order to permit an accurate observation of themusic-sheet, but that a comparatively narrow light-colored strip on theface of the tracker-board will be sufficient for showing whether themusic-sheet is properly positioned or not. By taking advantage of thisfact I have been enabled to provide a tracker-board the body portion orgreater part of which may be of the same coloring as the casing of theinstrument, While the face of the tracker-board may be provided with acomparatively narrow light-colored strip surrounding the perforations,so as to provide means for registering the music with the tracker-boardholes.

Referring to the accompanying drawing for a detailed description of atracker-board constructed according to my invention, the tracker-board Ais provided with the usual holes. Surrounding the tracker-board holes His a light-colored registering face or strip S, while the body portionof the tracker-board is of adark or deep colored finish, which maycorrespond with the casing of the instrument in which the tracker-boardis to be used. The contrasted efieot of the registration-strip S and thebody portion of the tracker-board may be secured by painting, staining,or in some, cases veneering the surface of the tracker-board, leavingthe registration-strip S exposed in the natural color of the wood fromwhich the tracker-board is made, or in some cases this result can beobtained by in IOU therefore, to be limited to the special trackerboardI have herein shown and described; but What I do claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

5 1. As an article of manufacture, a trackerboard for use inzautomaticmusical instruments having a dark-colored body portion which maycorrespond with thefinish of the casing of the instrumentin which thetrackerboard is to be used and having a light-coloredregistration-surface surrounding the tracker board holes. j

2. As an article of manufacture, the trackerboard A for automaticmusical instruments,

:5 having a dark-colored body portion, which LOUIS W. SOUTI-IGATE,PHILIP W. SOUTHGATEVL

